Dr. Hall, the agent in the Maryland colony at Cape Palmas says, “No stronger incentive could be given to the commission of these outrageous acts on the part of the British cruisers, than the course pursued by the United States government, in declaring the slave-trade piracy, and then taking no effective steps to prevent its prosecution under their own flag!” Again: “If our force is not increased, and we continue to disregard the prostitution of our flag, annoyances to our merchantmen will more frequently occur. We shall no longer receive the protection of British cruisers, which has ever been rendered to American vessels, and without which the whole coast would be lined with robbers and pirates.” CHAPTER XXIII. CASE OF THE “MARY CARVER,” SEIZED BY THE NATIVES--MEASURES OF THE SQUADRON IN CONSEQUENCE--DESTRUCTION OF TOWNS--LETTER FROM U. S. BRIG “TRUXTON” IN RELATION TO A CAPTURED SLAVER. The treaty of Washington in 1842, settled and defined matters clearly and honorably, both to the United States and Great Britain; and agreeably to the treaty, the African squadron was established in the year following, under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, consisting of the flag-ship Macedonian, the sloop-of-war Saratoga, the sloop-of-war Decatur, and the brig Porpoise. The squadron selected its rendezvous at Porto Praya, St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Islands, in lat. 14° 54’ N. and long. 23° 30’ W. One of the first acts of this squadron was the chastisement of the natives for an outrage on American commerce. The people of Little Berebee, eastward of Cape Palmas, had some time previously murdered the captain and crew of the American brig “Mary Carver.” This occurrence of itself establishes one point, which is the necessity of having cruisers on such a coast. The safety of commerce and the general welfare of the world are promoted by inspiring wrong-doers with wholesome terror. On two occasions, towns have been captured, and in one instance a town fired, by our squadrons on the coast of Sumatra, for similar atrocities on our merchant vessels. But the impression is soon forgotten, and the necessity for punishment occurs again. Now it may be expedient to act thus at a distance, and trust only to occasional proofs of just severity; but when wrong is ever ready to arise, it would be better that the means of correction were at hand; for in this way is the wrong-doing most readily prevented. Such, therefore, is the best arrangement for all parties. In a country so near as Africa, and with which the United States is so closely connected, the duty of preventing evil by the presence of power, is imperative; otherwise we at once jeopardize our citizens, and lead the savage into crime.